The best we page on the net so far about the mafia. Has pictures of
mafia member, "Wise Guys" that you can click on to read about their lives and
what they did."Jerry Capeci, America's foremost expert on
organized crime, often appears on network and cable TV news programs in the U.S. and
Canada. During the past ten years, Jerry has written numerous articles about organized
crime for many magazines and newspapers around the world. Jerry has also co-authored three
books about the Mafia and for six years wrote a weekly column for The New York Daily News
called 'Gang Land'."

"The yakuza can trace its origins back to as early as 1612, when
people known as kabuki-mono ("crazy ones"), began to attract the attention of
local officials. Their odd clothing and haircuts and behavior, along with carrying
long swords
at their sides, made them quite noticeable. Kabuki-mono made a habit of antagonizing and
terrorizing anyone at their leisure, even to the point of cutting one down just for sheer
pleasure."

"The following information illustrates the FBI's current
investigative efforts to dismantle IOCEs that pose the most significant threat to the
United States in terms of illegal activities, including drug trafficking and money
laundering."

"This site contains information about the Mafia. It focuses on La
Cosa Nostra, which is the Italian and Sicilian mafia. There is a page for each city that
is known to currently have, or previously have had a chapter of La Cosa Nostra. You can
get info on the bosses in every place from New York City to the small time LCN outfit in
Rockford, Illinois."

"The Honored society, or Mafia, as it was less often called, was a
vast criminal brotherhood that developed in Palermo and western Sicily. It rose as a
reaction to centuries of misrule. What distinguished the Mafia from similar groups was the
pace at which it prospered and took over Sicilian society."

"Most of the information obtained for this article comes from a
former member of the yakuza. He was eighteen years old when he entered one of the biggest
yakuza societies in Kobe. He retired fifteen years later, when he was thirty three years
old, because he realized how much his occupation was hurting his children. One day, his
daughter was given an assignment to write about her father's occupation. When she asked
him, he could not tell her that he was the member of the yakuza, so he lied to her. He
felt much shame about what he was doing. Finally, he decided to retire from the yakuza.
Most of the stories in this article are from his experiences during those fifteen
years." "The yakuza is an all men's society. They do not trust women. The only
visible woman in the group is the boss' wife, called ane-san. Ane-san means "older
sister." All members give her the same respect as the boss because sheis his
wife. However, she does not get involved in the business. Her position in the group is the
boss' wife, and not a member of a group."